Kiss Me Cate Pt. 11

"How does that saying go? Everything that has happened up until now has led me to here. If it hadn't happened I wouldn't be here now, with you."

"That I'm not sorry about." I said with a smile and raised her hand kissed it.

* * *

We spent the night in endeavoring to clear the cupboards once again as we would be leaving for Dublin in a week.

Unhappy with the current outfits she had in the closet for dinner on Friday, Cate took the car and went shopping the next morning. I had assured her anything she had was fine but was secretly happy she wanted to pick out something new. I puttered around making a list of things that I'd need to do before we left. Cate came home around lunch time with a few bags and a big grin. She put away her things without letting me peek.

"Where's the fun in that?" She asked slapping my hand away from the bags on the bed.

We spent time packing things for the trip. I installed a few of those lamp timers and made sure Mom had her key since she would be checking up on the place in our absence. Thursday came and Cate disappeared with the car again dressed rather casually in an old tee shirt and a pair of running shorts. I didn't think much of it and organized a little around the apartment. When Cate arrived home a few hours later she looked different. She leaned in for a smooch.

"Steer clear unless you want to smudge the paint."

"Huh?"

"Spray tan." She made a little face. "Thanks to our outing over the weekend I had these tan lines halfway down my arms, she pointed where the tee shirt ended. "They don't work with what I'll be wearing Friday."

"Even with a spray tan you're the whitest person I know." I said laughing and wanting to poke her to see if it was dry. She dodged my testing digit.

"It's dry, just don't rub it around. The true test will come when I wash it off later. I may need a hand with that if you're able." She added with a smile.

"Oh I think I can move a few appointments around, make some time for you around, when was it again?" I said looking at the clock. She laughed and gave me a poke in the ribs. When it came time she ran down the rules for doing it correctly. I was surprised to learn she'd gone for the all over option and appreciated examining the paint job. She was happy with the results after I'd gently daubed her dry, and I had to agree. She didn't look like she'd just stepped in from Saint-Tropez but the tan lines were visibly less to non-existent on her arms and upper legs.

When Friday came around she went out and got her hair done up. I laughed at how much effort she was putting into meeting Charlie and poked fun at her for it.

"Listen here. I want there to be no question as to who you're engaged to be married to, from either of you." She said raising an eyebrow.

"Well in my case it's not in question. I know, I was there when I asked you. I've told her enough about you that I'm sure she's resigned to the fact that I'm off the market, though I'm flattered that you're staking out your territory."

The afternoon came around and she chivied me out of the bedroom so she could get ready and I took my suit down the hall to the office where I got dressed, leaving the coat and tie off until we left.

Cate came out of the bedroom a little while later. I put aside the magazine I was flipping through as she entered the room. She wore a short white dress with a broad navy brush stroke pattern which showed off her legs nicely. Her lips were a dark almost blood red in color, a little color highlighted her cheeks and her eyes seemed twice their usual size. I wasn't sure but I attributed it to the darkness of her lashes. She was fiddling with an earring, she turned her head so I could see they were the ones I'd given her last Christmas, pearl with sapphires.

"Not a bad match." She said with a smile, holding her engagement ring up next to her ear.

"It makes you wonder if I had a plan all along. You look beautiful." I said with a grin.

"I do believe that you may have performed the most peaceful conquest of our time, and thank you." She grinned in return.

She stepped around the coffee table and I noticed the strappy navy heels were new as well. She went back to the bedroom and brought out a new blue clutch that matched her shoes and said she was ready when I was. I grinned at her and leaned in for a kiss, pausing to see if I'd be waved off due to the lipstick and she puckered up and let me have it. Cate convinced me to skip the tie due to the heat of the day. I asked if she thought I looked okay without it. She said, with a flash of those baby blues, that if she weren't so curious to meet Charlie that we wouldn't be going anywhere and the tie wouldn't be the only thing that I didn't need.

"You look very European, casual chic. You'd look good in an Italian suit." She said grinning as she took my arm in the hallway. I noted that I'd have to look up what the difference was later. She asked me to go before her on the stairs in case she had a mishap in the new shoes. She wanted something soft to land on.

We arrived at the restaurant short while later. It was a very upscale steak house in the heart of the city. It was beneath a small luxury inn, the lobby and restaurant were decorated with mahogany woodwork, brass fixtures and velvet trim. The maitre d' showed us to the table I'd reserved. He said that he would show our guest to the table as soon as she arrived.

Cate sat and smiled as the waiter filled water glasses and asked us if we would like a drink to start off with, we ordered and he left.

"Wow! Can you afford this?" She asked smiling.

"Charlie will pick up the tab then bill me for it and write it off on her taxes." I said with a soft laugh.

Our drinks arrived at the same time as Charlie had. The waiter backed up and waited as we made our greetings.

"Dylan! It's been too long." Charlie said giving me a hug and a peck on the cheek.

"It has been. Let me introduce you to my fiancé, Doctor Catelyn Murray."

"Cate, please." Cate held out her hand and Charlie looked down at it, her chin tucked back.

"Oh that's not going to do." She gave Cate a hug too, surprising both of us in the process. "It's nice to meet you Dr. Murray." Her voice lowered. "I hear tell you worked your ass off for that title, don't you ever back down from using it."

Cate's color deepened beneath her already pink cheeks and she smiled.

Charlie had come dressed to the nines herself in a gray sharkskin coat and mini skirt with a low cut red satin top. Once she sat down the waiter stepped forward again and took her drink order. I could practically feel the envy pouring out of him. I hadn't seen Charlie in person in nearly a year and now I saw why Cate felt so self-conscious. She was still a knockout, not just beautiful but outgoing and warm. Her dark hair was highlighted in copper and gold and she sported a nice tan which complimented her dark eyes and bright smile. She exuded confidence without being overbearing. Despite Cate wanting to not like Charlie, I could tell that she had softened her opinion considerably in only a few minutes. I could see myself getting uninvited from these occasions if I weren't careful. That idea made me laugh inwardly as Charlie regaled us of a recent trip to the capital in Albany for work.

"We went up to Lake George for the weekend after. You need to make your way over there, it was so beautiful." The word 'we' didn't escape Cate or myself, but I didn't ask. Charlie must be seeing someone. I thought, "a woman like her doesn't stay lonely for long." As quickly as I thought it I was reminded of Cate last fall. It could happen even if it didn't show it, I reminded myself. It hadn't taken long for Charlie to hook Cate on talk of Ireland. Sometimes I wondered if she got tired of being quizzed about it all the time. It was a conversation starter if nothing else, and it was wonderfully generic.

"Do you like chocolate?" Charlie asked Cate. "They have the best chocolate mocha cheesecake on earth here."

I snorted. "You might as well ask a lion if it likes red meat. Ow!" Above the table Cate hadn't moved but somehow she found my shin with her new shoes instantly.

"You never learn do you Dyl-bert. You just don't know when to stop talking." Charlie said with a laugh. The smile on her face was sweet and I remembered why I fell for her in the first place.

At Charlie's recommendation we were each presented with a slice of cheesecake surrounded by fresh strawberries.

Over coffee Charlie asked if it would be okay to talk shop for a few minutes. "I don't want to be impolite but since you're winging away to Europe in a few days Mr. Jet-setter I'd like to mop up a few details on this offer."

"Sure. If you don't mind." I asked Cate who shook her head almost instantly and reached for her coffee cup. "Cate's got a basic top down view of things." I said nodding to Charlie.

Charlie picked up her purse and pulled out an envelope and handed it to me. "They counter-offered you."

"How much?"

"Four hundred." Charlie shrugged. "They want it, but they're not going to pay more than they will comfortably make back just to have the code." I scanned the letter and handed it to Cate who took it and began reading.

"What do you think? Is there anyone else we could hit up for five?"

"Honestly, not right now. The market is kind of soft. I think they want to low-ball it, sit on it and launch when the market firms up. I don't think we would find a better offer anywhere else. Either way they want the rights, and that's why I wouldn't go a dime lower."

"We were hoping for five, but were willing to settle for three fifty. I would go ahead and make the deal if you're okay with it. You have a stake here too."

I gave Cate a quick run down of the sale, how the company we pitched my software to was looking to add it to a suite of their own similar programs. She nodded as I explained the original offer which brought us to where we were now.

"What do you think? Should we take the deal and move on or hold onto it to see if the market improves?"

Her eyes opened wide for a moment as she went over the page. "I understand them wanting the rights so they can work it in but will they keep your name on it? It never hurts to keep your name out there despite who is buying your work. It's hard to list your accomplishments for future prospects if your name isn't attached to the work after it's sold. If it becomes a hit, which I'm sure it will, it can give future projects instant credibility and a financial boost."

I nodded and looked at Charlie who was beaming. "I like the way you think." She said to Cate. "Just because I got my Gucci on Fifth Avenue instead of Florence doesn't mean it isn't still Gucci. There's no reason for us to take a twenty percent hit on the asking price without a concession like that."

I laughed. "Did I need to be here for this?"

They looked at one another and both shook their heads, and agreed that they didn't really need me. "Well except that as the owner I needed you here so you make the final decision, and pick up the tab, and I could hit you up for a couple billable hours." Charlie batted her eyelashes at me with a sweet little smile causing us all to laugh.

Cate leaned over conspiratorially and said that maybe I should skip the Shakespeare and women's studies courses, and take some business and finance next semester. The look on Charlie's face was priceless as she burst out laughing. She covered her mouth and looked around as if to apologize to the other diners. Cate just looked at her and nodded.

"I'd already said yes, you didn't need to memorize romantic sonnets for me." Cate added with a grin. Charlie was still snickering and I gave her a withering look which only intensified her laughter.

Charlie dug out one of her business cards and penned her personal number on it and handed it to Cate. "When you're back and settled in give me a call and we can get drinks and dish on this joker."

"You know, I'm just not sure how this could ever benefit me." I said, sounding rather worried even to my own ears.

"Not to worry sweetheart, by the time that happens you'll have the wedding band through your nose and you'll go where I lead you, forever and ever." She said, her smile similar to Charlie's as she batted her eyelashes too.

"Welcome to the new age Dylan." Charlie replied with a grin.